why is it better to eat 6 small meals instead of the three?

Question

will it help lose or maintain weight?
and should the small meal be the half of the regular one?

Answer 1

Notionally the purpose o fhaving more meals is to improve metabolism. Say you ate one meal a week, your metabolism slows so that your body can save and store as much energy (in the form of body fat) as possible.... Your body is in famine and will slow your metabolism and give you less energy to utilise... you will feel really drained, even though you might have a huge fat reserve there to call upon.

So if you eat one meal per day.. your metabolism is slower than if you eat three meals per day... and if you eat six meals per day.. your metabolism so the notion goes, increases again.. and your bio-clock clicks in and instructs your cells that you have hit the good times! (simplified to the point of innacuracy but you get the point).

Now will it help you to lose or maintain weight? I think increased metabolism will help you maintain weight only if your daily energy burn equals your daily energy input.

That is, if in any one day you eat more (your source of energy) than you use (by exercise, keeping your vital organs operating, regenerating celss etc), then your body will convert the excess energy to fat and store it in your body.

Inversely, if you burn more energy than you consume in any one day.. your body will look to make up the energy balance from reserved energy by metabolising under utilised muscle mass or previously stored fat.

Therefore to maintain weight, the total calorie consumption should not exceed the total calorie burn, no matter how many meals you eat per day.

To lose weight, you should try to increase your metabolism through exercise and regular food intake.. but you *must* sanction the total food intake (energy in) so that it is less than you use (energy out).

Answer 2

eating 6 small meals instead of 3 will prevent you from eating too much on your next meal.

will it help lose or maintain weight? the answer is yes, as long as you follow a balanced diet plus work out

should the small meal be the half of the regular one? not necessarily.. your meals should be a well balanced diet.. and calorie controlled if you really want to lose weight.

Answer 3

It's good to eat more small meals because it keeps your metabolism pumping all day. When your body digest food if you eat a big meal, it stores what you don't need as fat. But if you eat smaller portions more throughout the day, your body will be able to use all of it more efficiently and burn more calories. The meals should be mixes of complex carbs and protein and veggies, and should be about 300-400 calories each (basically the size of your palm depending on what exactly you are eating). I have known a lot of people that use this method and I don't know one that has not lost weight doing it. Good luck and be healthy.

Answer 4

it is somewhat better because it keeps your metabolism going constantly to digest the food, also you don't feel as hungry by the time lunch or dinner rolls around and therefore you eat less. As to the weight part of the question it depends on what you eat, when you eat (believe it or not) and how much you eat. If you eat healthy it should either help in lowering your weight or maintaining it. The small "meal" should give you a sense of feeling full but not stuffed like you just ate your way through a buffet line. One last thing, don't eat just because its "time" to eat, eat because you hungry, and sit down and enjoy what you eat.

Answer 5

Yes you should eat 6 small meals rather than 3 big ones. Why ? because grazing is better than gorging. Its easier for your body to burn 6 small amounts of food than to burn 3 huge amounts of food. And you tend to eat less because your never really very hungry if your eat 6 small meals per day which is equivalent to eating approximately every 3 hrs. By eating 3 meals a day you will go longer periods of time without eating so you will tend to eat bigger portions than if you " snack" all day long

Answer 6

The thinking is that smaller meals result in more even blood sugar levels which, in theory, minimize insulin release which tends to convert calories to fat. A recent study, however, showed no difference in body weight/ weight loss with such variables. The only thing that seemed to matter was calories consumed vs. calories expended.

Answer 7

particular it particularly is greater effectual to have 6 small nutrients consistent with day than 3 greater nutrients. we are, by way of nature, surfing animals and surfing animals consume small quantities often. This ensures that metabalism is maintained at a gorgeous point and that a relentless grant of power is attainable for the time of the day while in comparison with the highs and lows experienced while greater, much less widely used nutrients are ate up. eating this manner reduces fatigue.

Answer 8

It helps keep your blood sugar more level and your metabolism up so yes you tend to lose weight and feel better as you don't have the highs and lows of those that don't snack between meals,

Answer 9

There is absolutely no way to determine that from what you just said...

-what is the intensity of your work outs?
-what are you eating?

just eating less won't make you lose weight necessarily..it depends on what you eat.

and you really don't want to lose weight as fast as possible. You know whats healthy and what not, so choose to eat healthy.

stay active, but don't over do it or push yourself beyond your physical capabilities.

good luck and may the force be with you.

Answer 10

I do that!! It does help to lose and maintain weight. Before I started doing it, I was around 120, now I stay at 112 lbs. I don't do it on purpose, I just like to eat all day! Lol! :D

I just snack on healthy snacks! :D

~*~StardustFaerie24~*~